Vantage Realized in the running for College Entrepreneur of the Year

With only one week left to vote, it’s almost time for the decision to be made for the spot of Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012. This year, one ASU team has reached the final round and is one of five contestants from across the nation—Vantage Realized.

Vantage Realized is a social entrepreneurial venture that has targeted the overlooked problems that long-term wheelchair users are faced with. After years of exertion with manually operated wheelchairs, it is expected that many wheelchair users will develop carpal tunnel syndrome or damage to the rotator cuffs in their shoulders.

“It is not well publicized because there is no solution,” explains the startup’s vice president of Engineering, co-founder and recent mechanical engineering graduate, Gordon Freirich. “We want to provide a solution to this problem,” continues Colin Ho, a mechanical engineering graduate and the engineering design lead for Vantage Realized.

Their solution comes in the form of a lever system that allows for less strenuous movement to propel the wheelchair. Having designed, built and tested a prototype, Vantage Realized is now preparing to apply their data and feedback to improve their product.

With the assistance of mentorship and connections attained through their second year in the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, Vantage Realized will then follow their business model to make the improved components available to the public.

Learn more about Vantage Realized: www.vantagerealized.com